Arjuna’s Anxiety, A Case Study of Courage in Practice
- Nov 28, 2025
- 3 min read
Introduction, When a Hard Choice Sparks a Storm Inside
The Bhagavad Gita opens with a moment most of us recognize in our own lives, even if our battlefield looks nothing like Kurukshetra. Arjuna stands at the edge of something unavoidable. A choice he does not want to make. A moment he feels unprepared for. His body trembles, his mind races, and every part inside him screams to run.
IFS has a name for this experience, the system becoming flooded with protectors, fear parts, and old burdens. This blog offers a narrative vignette inspired by Arjuna’s moment, translated into a real world IFS frame so readers can see what courage looks like inside the psyche.
Case Vignette, “David at the Threshold”
David is a 38 year old client standing at the brink of a big decision, leaving a job that drains him or staying in a role that feels “safe.”
His system reacts instantly.
Before the session
jaw tight
mind looping
chest buzzing
a sense of dread
every part insisting this decision will ruin his life
He says to the therapist, I feel exactly like Arjuna. I know what I need to do, but my whole body is refusing.
Parts Mapping, The Inner Battlefield
As David drops into the moment, these parts step forward:
The Catastrophizer (Protector) This part says, If we leave the job, everything collapses. It catastrophizes to keep David from risk.
The Good Son (Manager) This part whispers, Your family expects stability. Don’t disappoint them. It carries generational fear.
The Shame ExileSoft, trembling, young. It carries the belief, I am not capable.This exile is the one the protectors are circling around.
The Rebel (Firefighter) It wants to quit immediately and burn everything down just to get relief.
IFS creates a map of these voices, not to silence them, but to understand them.
Self Leadership Moments, Where the Gita Meets IFS
At the core of the Gita is Krishna’s quiet, unwavering presence. IFS calls that same quality Self.
David takes a breath and we invite his protectors to step back just a little.
He turns toward the Catastrophizer: I get why you’re scared. I won’t force anything. Immediately the body softens. One shoulder drops.
He speaks to the Good Son: You’ve carried my family’s expectations for decades. You don’t have to do this alone.
The Rebel steps back when he hears: I’m not ignoring you. I’ll move with clarity, not panic.
These moments aren’t dramatic. They’re steady. They build inner space.
A Gita Verse as Inner Reframe
David brings in a verse he loves:
| Yoga is skill in action.
| Not action without fear.
| Not action without parts.
| Skill in action.
| Centered action.
| Self led action.
He repeats it inside. The system stabilizes around it.
Before and After, Internal Dialogue Shift
Before (protector led)
I can’t handle this I’ll disappoint everyone If I make the wrong choice, I’m done
After (Self led)
A part of me is terrified, and I’m here with it. I can hold the fear without obeying it. I don’t need certainty to move, I need Self
Notice the shift:same situation,same job,same risk,completely different inner posture.
Step by Step Transcript Readers Can Model
This transcript stays non clinical and safe, appropriate for personal growth rather than therapy.
Therapist Can you ask the fearful part to share what it is most worried about?
Client (David) It says we’ll fail. People will judge us. We’ll look stupid.
Therapist Can you let that part know you hear it?
Client Yeah. It relaxes a little just hearing me say that.
Therapist See if it’s willing to let you notice any other parts around this choice.
Client Another part says I should stay because it’s the responsible thing.
Therapist Let that part know you appreciate its sense of duty. See if it will step back too.
Client It softens. I feel more room in my chest.
Therapist From this clearer space, bring the Gita verse you mentioned earlier into your awareness. Let it support the Self energy you already feel.
Client (now calm) It helps. I don’t feel pushed. I feel guided.
This is the moment Arjuna reaches when Krishna finishes speaking,the battlefield hasn’t changed,but the inner landscape has.
Closing, Courage Is an Inner Arrangement
Arjuna didn’t win his battle because the situation changed. He moved forward because his inner leadership returned.
IFS and the Gita meet in this truth, that courage is not the absence of fear, but the reorganization of the inner world around clarity, compassion, and presence.
When Self steps forward, the parts don’t disappear.They feel accompanied. And from that place, action becomes possible.
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